In A Nutshell

This festive dessert is sweet and tart at the same time; it is adapted from Fine Cooking magazine but I think that next time I make it, I will make it in a 9" square pan lined with oiled parchment and cut it into bars for a bite size dessert you can pick up. For the cranberry filling : 12 oz. fresh cranberries 1 cup sugar 2 T fresh lemon juice 3 T apricot jam Combine cranberries, sugar, lemon juice and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan. Bring to boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. The cranberries will pop and spit so watch out. The mixture should be syrupy. Add the apricot jam and let this cool completely (I made this the day before making the tart). For the shortbread : 1 cup sliced blanched almonds 9 oz. (2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour 1/4 c plus 2 T fine yellow cornmeal (1 3/4 oz.) 1/2 t kosher salt 1 cup sugar zest from one lemon 1 t vanilla 1 egg yolk 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened In

This is a great dish to make with leftover turkey from Thanksgiving or leftover roasted chicken anytime. My mom does an incredible Thanksgiving dinner each year and without a doubt, the leftover gravy is the most precious commodity; my brother and I are in a shameless competition when packing up leftovers at the end of the night-- whoever is crafty and quick enough takes home the most gravy. If you can get your hands on some of the gravy, it will make a tasty addition to the pie mixture. It's the ultimate in cold weather comfort food and the mashed potato part is an excellent side dish as well. The recipe is adapted from Rachel Ray. For the potatoes : 2 1/2 to 3 lbs potatoes, peeled and cut into fourths 1- 5 oz. package garlic and herb Boursin cheese 1/2 stick butter about 3/4 cup milk salt and pepper 2 egg yolks Boil the potatoes in salted water for about 20-25 minutes or until very very soft. Drain and add all the ingredients except the egg yolks. Mix with a hand mixe

This quick bread is deliciously moist, not too sweet and a little tart. It is adapted from The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum ; I also own The Pie and Pastry Bible and both books are incredible. She is a very particular baker and gives detailed explanations as to the whys and what-fors.  When I saw in this recipe that she wants you to cut the cranberries in half, I seriously balked. But after reading the explanation (so the cranberries don't burst and lose their shape and also so that they absorb the sugar from the batter), I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. I suppose if Rose tells you to cut the cranberries in half, you cut them in half! I plopped myself down in front of the t.v. with my cranberries and found that this task took about 10 minutes--not even enough time to watch anything. I think it's worth the effort. This bread is better the day after it's baked. If you have a kitchen scale, I recommend using the weight measurements. 3/4 cup walnuts,

Isn't it irritating how magazines use fake food and food stylists so that then your finished product never even slightly resembles the photo? This dessert was actually prettier than the photo!  Woo hoo!!!! The recipe is ever so slightly adapted from Fine Cooking. For the Crust : 6 oz. chocolate wafers 2 T sugar 5 T unsalted butter, melted Finely crush the cookies in a food processor; add the sugar and butter and pulse until well-mixed. Press the crumbs into a 9" tart pan with a removable bottom and bake at 350º for 8 minutes. For the Cherry Swirl : 3/4 cup pitted sweet cherries (I used frozen Bing cherries) 3 T cherry jam 1 T kirsch Puree in a blender; transfer to a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the mixture thickens slightly, about 7 or 8 minutes. Stir in the kirsch. For the Filling : 12 oz. cream cheese, softened 4 oz. sour cream, room temp. 1/3 cup sugar 1 T flour 1 t vanilla 1/2 t kosher salt 2 eggs, room temp. Reduce oven heat t

Clearly, forming a pretzel knot is not my strength but nonetheless, these were pure heaven. They taste like a certain mall pretzel but without the gross fake butter flavor. The recipe is adapted from foodnetwork.com. 1 cup milk scant 2 t instant yeast 3 T packed light brown sugar 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 T butter, diced plus about 4-6 T butter melted for brushing on the finished pretzels 1 t fine sea salt coarse salt or pretzel salt for sprinkling before baking 1/3 cup baking soda 3 cups warm water Mix the flour, salt, yeast and brown sugar in the bowl of a mixer. Warm the milk and butter in a small  saucepan until it bubbles around the edges.  When the milk is still very warm but not scalding (use your finger-- if you don't sustain third degree burns, it's ready to use) add it to the flour mixture and mix with the dough hook for about 5 minutes. The dough should stick to the bottom of the bowl but not the sides; it will be soft and tacky. Put the dough in

My lovely daughter made this delightful beverage for us recently- it's gorgeous to look at and even better to drink. The recipe is adapted from Epicurious. I recently bought rye whiskey for these drinks though I have no idea whether it tastes any different from bourbon whiskey. The original recipe has a one to one proportion of whiskey to sour mix but I found that to be a little too strong so I put about 3 oz. sour mix for every 2 oz. of whiskey. 2 oz. rye or bourbon whiskey 2 oz. - 4 oz. sweet and sour mix (recipe follows), depending upon whether you like your whiskey drinks as strong as you like your men red wine Combine the whiskey and sour mix over ice. Float a little red wine on top of the drink by gently pouring it over the back of a spoon. Garnish with a cherry. Sweet and Sour Mix : equal parts lemon juice (fresh, please) and simple syrup Simple Syrup : equal parts sugar and water; melt the sugar in the water over low heat until it is completely dissolved

This recipe comes from my sister-in-law Caroline (still waiting for some guest posts, by the way...); it is divine. I personally feel that one need not ever purchase bland pre-made hummus as long as "one" keeps a few cans of chickpeas, a working food processor and some tahini around the house. I sometimes like to top the hummus with drained giardinera, paprika and olive oil (which I learned from a Lebanese woman during a cultural fair at my son's school). 2 cans garbanzo beans, drained 1/2 cup tahini, well-stirred juice of 2 lemons 4 garlic cloves, chopped 1 1/2 t salt 1-2 t cumin (to taste) 1/3 cup warm water 1/3 cup best quality extra-virgin olive oil Combine everything in the food processor except the oil and water; process until pasty and then add the water followed by the oil through the tube while machine is running. Top with EVOO (be generous here!), chopped parsley and paprika (or giardinera if you like that) and serve with pita bread or pita chips.

I LOVE having different soups in the winter; this is adapted from Fine Cooking magazine. 2 T olive oil 2 ribs of celery, sliced 1 onion, chopped 1 cup frozen corn 2 cups shredded, cooked chicken (whatever you have from a leftover roast chicken) 1/2 cup orzo 1/4 cup chopped parsley 3 T lemon juice 2 quarts chicken broth or homemade chicken stock (preferred) vegeta or chicken bouillon, to taste white pepper, to taste Saute the celery and onion in the olive oil until softened, about 5 or 6 minutes. Add the chicken stock, seasonings and corn; bring to a boil and add orzo. Reduce heat and cook orzo according to package directions for al dente. Add the chicken, lemon juice and parsley and heat through; taste and add more salt/vegeta and pepper as needed.  The pasta will really plump up the longer it sits. Easy peasy. Note: the directions in the magazine would have you cook the orzo separately and then put the cooked pasta into the soup-- because I don't like doing dishe

This recipe came to me through my friend Mary and it is a beloved stand-by in our house.  I always have tomato paste on hand and the meatballs are very easy to make. You can also purchase meatballs to save time. I usually double it and freeze a batch to have on some lazy winter day. For the meatballs : 2 lb ground turkey or ground sirloin (I prefer turkey) 1 egg 1/2 cup bread crumbs 1/2 grated parmesan cheese 1 t garlic salt 2 T chopped parsley Mix all ingredients gently and form into 2" balls. Bake at 375º for about 10-12 minutes. They don't need to be cooked completely through as they will continue to cook in the sauce. This makes a lot of meatballs; I usually either use half and freeze the rest or double the sauce recipe and use all the meatballs. It depends if you like lots and lots of meatballs or prefer a less meaty sauce. For the sauce : 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 onion, chopped 6 cloves of garlic, minced pinch of crushed red pepper 3 t salt 4

This recipe is from Bon Appetit; the main thing I changed is the baking time (original is way too long). Crust : 1 cup flour 3/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 t salt 1 stick cold unsalted butter, diced 1 cup pecan halves 2/3 cup oats In a food processor, pulse the first four ingredients until coarse meal forms. Add the pecans and oats and pulse until incorporated. Butter a 9X9 metal baking pan. Press 3 1/2 cups of the crumbs into the pan and bake at 350º for about 15 minutes until golden. Watch the crust carefully because it's not good when over-baked. Keep the food processor out for the filling (you don't need to wash it). On a rimmed baking sheet, bake the remaining crumbs for about 10-12 minutes, stirring once. Filling : 8 oz. cream cheese softened 1 egg 3/4 cup pumpkin puree 1/2 cup sugar 1 t cinnamon 1/4 t ground ginger (or more if you like a lot) Pour filling over crust and spread as evenly as possible; bake for 20 minutes (the sides should start to rise a bi